Fallen Beneath the Touch of Your Hand
by Kali Cephirot
Summary: Twenty facts about Conrad Weller. [FINISHED.]


**Fallen Beneath the Touch of Your Hand.**

1. What he liked the most in the world, back when he was too young to hold even a practice sword, was when Gwendal would read to him in a quiet voice, sitting under a shadow of a tree in the garden, and his father and mother would be nearby, not speaking, but Celi's head would be leaning against Dan Hiri's shoulders, and his father would be smiling almost as if he didn't notice.

2. Conrad never hated his father for leaving. He just wishes he would've said goodbye. And, as he starts to grow up and starts understanding why his dad couldn't, he just hopes he won't let Dan Hiri down.

3. His first crush is actually on Günther, for the first few months he had him as a teacher. That just worn off slowly and, once he grew up, it evolved into a friendship he treasures.

His 'first love' was a ten years old human girl he met during his first trip with his father. She had been sweet and kind, and when he had had to go, she had gifted him a knitted bracelet (for good luck) and a kiss.

When he went back to that same village during his third trip with his father, that young girl was already married and she was expecting her first son. Even more, she didn't remember him at all.

4. His favorite joke until this day is the goala one. Gwendal told him that one when they had been nothing but children and it never fails to make him laugh.

5. By the time Wolfram is born, he has seen his father kill several men and wild animals; he has even hunted down some prays on his own and he knows how to fight, even if he hasn't killed anyone yet.

He's still completely and absolutely terrified of the small bundle of screaming and crying mazoku who doesn't seem to ever shut up. His fear, of course, vanishes when the baby, after taking a fistful of two of his fingers, slowly calms down and dozes off to sleep. After that, it's a unanimous decision from the rest of the servants, his mother and Gwendal that he should be Wolfram's babysitter.

6. Conrad's first kill happens when Wolfram had been nothing but a toddler. He had gotten careless, had gotten too far away from Gwendal and the older guards when the assassins came for them. Wolfram was too young to remember it now, but sometimes Conrad still hears his baby brother's cries, Gwendal's voice calling for them, and the nausea he felt.

7. Conrad hates Wolfram's father, completely and thoroughly with the kind of hate he always tries not to feel towards anyone. He hates him for choosing to be away when _he_ could be near his son without death chasing away every single day they have as if they were seconds, for never writing, for never visiting. Most of all? He hates him for the way Wolfram asks him 'when is Father coming to see me?' in the saddest, most defeated way Conrad has heard.

8. He knows (hopes) Yozak and he are going to have a lifelong friendship while they're traveling together because Yozak is the only person he knows that can startle him into laughing until there are tears rolling down his face.

9. He doesn't cry when Gwendal comes back and tells them that Dan Hiri was dead. He knew that was his Father's wish, and he knows that Dan Hiri _is_ going to be remembered. He had been getting ready for that day for years. When Celi wraps her arms around him and hugs him tightly, Conrad hugs back but it's mostly for his mother, who's already crying against his shoulder. He accepts the condolences he receives and he admits on feeling sad, so he is excused for all his other obligations and he's mostly left alone the rest of the day; at the moment, he'd rather stay alone than to deal with people's sympathetic sorrow for him.

But that night he's still so touched when Wolfram climbs up his bed, mumbling about a nightmare and instantly curling in his arms that Conrad is surprised to feel his eyes stinging with the telltale feeling of tears.

In the end, he just closes his eyes against Wolfram's soft blond hair and takes deep, even breathes.

10. The first time he had sex was with Yozak, and after that, for about a week everything felt so weird between them that they _had_ to have sex again and after they finished for the second time, after looking at their almost-scared-faces they laughed until their sides hurt… and then they had sex for the third time and they stopped counting.

They've never put a name on what they have and they probably never will. Names don't really have a place between them anyway.

11. What he loved about Julia wasn't the feeling of peace she gave to everyone around her, or her ethereal beauty; it wasn't even that she quite obviously didn't love him back and he fancied himself a romantic hero. What he loved about her was that, for the very first time since Wolfram had pushed him away, he felt that there was a reason (selfish or not) to come back alive.

12. He always knew it was Wolfram the one who came to see him while he was recovering after the war, when he thought he was sleeping. Conrad heard the soft scrap of the chair and he'd feel rough hands closing over his wrist, and he'd stay quiet and breathing evenly, picturing when his younger brother had done the same when he was little, begging for another story, another game, more attention, and his 'please, don't leave me'.

13. Conrad never questioned Shinou's will before Julia's death and he still doesn't after, at least not completely. He has promised his life and soul to the service of Shinou, even when that means losing so many good friends and losing the woman you loved, because their King had ordered it.

14. Rodriguez has the most amazing music collection Conrad has ever thought could exist. As much as he ends up liking R&B and Jazz, he has to confess that his favorite was this American singer 'Elvis', who might or might not be dead, depending on the source you asked. He once got told that he had gone back to his planet, and he had questioned Rodriguez if this Elvis was (or had been) a Mazoku too; he just blinked when it seemed that Rodriguez was trying not to burst something open from not laughing out loud.

15. Conrad always knew he was going to be loyal to His Majesty Yuuri, and that he was going to love their next monarch like one loves the promise of the next sunrise. The boy had Julia's soul inside him, and Conrad always knew that there was no way he wouldn't love that, that he wouldn't live to see even the faintest spark of Julia inside the eyes of a black haired boy.

What he didn't know and what he didn't expect was how much he was going to love Yuuri for being _Yuuri_, and how much of his loyalty and protection wasn't because the teenager was Shin Makoku's ruler, but because he was Yuuri, a friend and a dearly loved person that was important to him.

16. He admits on being in the bet of 'What Will Happen With Wolfram and Yuuri' that Doria, Lasagnia and Sangria are running through the people living in Blood Pledge Castle. However, what he bet on exactly is a secret between him and the paper sheet that's inside 'Don't-Cheat-On-The-Result's-kun' that Anissina created specifically for the game.

17. He is the first one to realize that, in less than a month of knowing her, Greta has tied Gwendal, Wolfram and himself around her tiny little finger without much effort. It's a good thing that Greta is too sweet to realize that, or they'd probably be doomed.

It's not such a good thing that he's quite certain that Anissina and their mother know this and they're rejoicing on the knowledge.

18. Conrad always thought he was ready to do whatever Shinou asked him to do for the sake of Shin Makoku, never mind the consequences.

It's still a shock how much it pains him to see Yuuri and Wolfram's eyes widen in both happiness at him being alive and in betrayal that he's standing by Dai Shimaron's side, and how every single time they both look at him as if hoping to wake up from a nightmare. It seems to hurt even more than what losing his arm did.

19. When they go to Earth with Yuuri, Conrad is very sorry to know how many seasons he has missed of Star Trek; the season that's showing in Japan doesn't even have Mr. Spock. What's more, since they're in a hurry, he doesn't get the chance to even see a complete episode even once.

20. The day when Yuuri discovers who he is in love with, Conrad knows he will be near: let it be to congratulate the young king and his younger brother; congratulate just the king and then go to try and comfort his brother, if he's allowed; tell Yuuri that they need to give Wolfram some time to heal before doing anything…

Or maybe, just maybe, stay with both of them.


End file.
